Even though both sports are known for intense action and rough characters, boxing and poker aren’t usually combined. This didn’t stop Gus Hansen (known as one of the biggest full tilt poker names)and Danish poker pro Theo Jorgensen from duking it out. Both know as skilled poker players in both the online poker and live tournament circuit, did quite well as shown in the video.

By John J. Raspanti: Mike Mollo defines a fighter. He’s taken on all comers despite encountering multiple injuries, biased judges, and an unhinged referee during the course of his 16-year-career. Mollo, a Chicago native, has been victorious in 20 of his 25 professional fights, with 12 wins by knockout. Things looked promising in 2006 after he knocked out Kevin McBribe in two rounds. A year later he stopped prospect Art Binkowski. Mollo lost close decisions to contenders Andrew Golota...

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): Rumors are swirling that we may actually see Gennady Golovkin take on the 51 year old timeless wonder, Bernard Hopkins. Nothing has been

By John J. Raspanti: Former undisputed super middleweight titleholder Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) will face hard-hitting light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera (17-0, 12 KOs) March 26th at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, CA.Ward, 31, was last seen in the ring eight months ago dispatching over-matched Englishman Paul Smith in nine one-sided rounds. The bout was Ward’s first since early 2014, following an extended legal battle with his promoter, the late Dan Goossen. Ward was scheduled...

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s):

​By John J. Raspanti: On January 30th, Jean Pascal will meet Sergey Kovalev for the second time in a boxing ring. Last year Kovalev, the WBA, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titleholder, stopped former champion Pascal in Round eight at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. The call for a rematch was hardly deafening. Kovalev was comfortably ahead on the judges’ scorecards at the time of the stoppage. He floored Pascal for the first time in his career and hurt him on numerous occasions...

By John J. Raspanti: Former junior welterweight titleholder Danny Garcia added the WBC welterweight championship to his resume by winning a hard-fought 12 round unanimous decision over former two-division champion Robert Guerrero at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. Saturday night. All three judges scored the fight 116-112 for Garcia. Maxboxing and Doghouseboxing also had Garcia winning by a 116-112 tallly. Guerrero, a southpaw, came out strongly in the opening stanza. He worked the body

By John J. Raspanti Former two-division world champion Robert Guerrero is 32, considered young in just about every profession, except boxing. Two years ago, he fought the then pound-for-pound king Floyd Mayweather in Las Vegas, NV. The judges had Guerrero losing nine out of twelve rounds. The roughly three million dollars Guerrero pocketed likely helped to heal his wounds. Thirteen months later, Guerrero tangled with Yoshihiro Kamegai at the Stubhub Center in Carson, Calif. Guerrero was...

By John J. Raspanti: Picking a “Fighter of the Year” can be a thankless job--especially when, at first glance, there’s no clear-cut winner. This year, four candidates deserved consideration. Gennady Golovkin dominated Martin Murray, Willie Monroe Jr., and David Lemieuz in 2015. His consecutive knockout streak has now reached 21. Canelo Alvarez blitzed James Kirkland in eight minutes and out-pointed future Hall Of Famer Miguel Cotto. Floyd Mayweather finally faced Manny Pacquiao, and beat the P

By Allan Scotto: By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): As 2015 draws to a close, what were your favorite fights of this past year and what fights are you hoping to see in 2016...

Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week. Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission...

By John J. Raspanti: Unbeaten heavyweight Luis Ortiz (24-0, 21 KOs) stopped high ranking former challenger Bryant Jennings (19-2, 10 KOs) in the seventh round Saturday night at the Turning Point Resort Casino in Verona, New York. Ortiz, a southpaw, went to work in the opening stanza. He cuffed his opponent with right hands. A right hook/uppercut hurt Jennings. Another big left caused his knees to buckle. Jennings looked shell-shocked but dug deep and rallied in round two...

By John J. Raspanti: Crafty Billy Joe Saunders (23-0, 14 KOs) captured the WBO middleweight title by boxing his way to a tactical 12 round majority decision over Andy Lee (34-3-1, 24 KOs) Saturday night at Hunts Bank in Manchester, England. Saunders almost stopped Lee in round three when he scored two knockdowns. The 10-7 scoring proved to be the difference on the judges scorecards. The scores were 113-113 a draw, 114-112 and 115-111 for the new champion. Maxboxing and Doghouseboxing...

By John J. Raspanti: Roy Jones Jr. is one of the greatest fighters who ever lived. He began his career in 1989. That’s 26 years ago for those with math issues. He scored 17 straight knockouts before winning the IBF middleweight championship from future Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins. In 1994, Jones Jr. gave James Toney a boxing lesson over 12 rounds to win the super middleweight belt. Two years later, he captured Mike McCallium’s light heavyweight title. Not a bad career at this point...

By John J. Raspanti: Heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) was staggered for the first time in his career, but still managed to knock out rival Dillian Whyte (16-1, 13 KOs) in the seventh round at the O2 Arena in London, England last Saturday night. Whyte gave the powerfully built Joshua extra motivation by reminding him over and over again of how he defeated him (2009) in an amateur bout. Joshua took it to Whyte in the opening stanza. He landed numerous hooks that staggered his

By Benny Henderson Jr.: Anybody who follows any contact sport knows that it is a young man’s game. Professional football players rarely play on when they reach their mid to late thirties. The average age of a pro player is the mid-twenties. As you get older your skills start to decline, the speed goes first, your legs get weary, your back gets tired, the gas tank does not hold as much as it did when you were young. But the heart, the heart still beats strong, and with its desire, sometimes

By John J. Raspanti: Rising New Zealand heavyweight Joseph Parker remained undefeated by stopping towering Daniel Martz in the opening stanza Saturday night at the Cloudlands Arena in Hamilton, New Zealand. Martz (14-3-1, 11 KOs) glared at Parker during the pre-fight instructions. Standing a good three inches taller than the 6-foot-4 inch Parker, Martz was banking on his size making a difference. Maybe in basketball, but not boxing. Parker (17-0, 15 KOs) studied his opponent...

By John J. Raspanti: As it turned out, the battle of Brooklyn wasn’t much of a skirmish as WBA middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs stopped former WBO titleholder Peter Quillin 85 seconds into the opening stanza at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York Saturday night. After a minute of feeling each other out, Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) connected with a straight right to Quillin’s temple. Quillin, who was floored by Andy Lee six months ago, felt the full impact of the blow...

By John J. Raspanti: Brooklynite and WBA ‘regular’ (what is that?) titleholder Daniel Jacobs put his title on the line this Saturday night against fellow Bronx boxer and former champion Peter Quillin at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Jacobs (30-1, 27 KOs) has won his last 10 fights in a row by knockout. He’s also something of a miracle man, having beaten life-threatening osteosarcoma in 2011. Last year he captured the middleweight championship by knocking out Jarrod Fletcher...

By John J. Raspanti: When it was announced a few years ago that another "Rocky" film would be going into production, the groans from movie-goers could be heard from coast to coast. The cynicism was understandable. The "Rocky" franchise had officially ended on a positive note in 2006 with "Rocky Balboa"--a film that surprised critics by returning to its roots on the gritty streets of Philadelphia. Creator and star Sylvester Stallone gave the iconic character a great sendoff...

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): Last Saturday, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez defeated Miguel Cotto, and claimed the WBC World Middleweight title. It looked pretty clear...

Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week. Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the...

By John J. Raspanti: When Mike Jimenez was stopped by Jesse Hart on the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao bout in Las Vegas, NV last May, he could have done what a lot of fighters do, disappear. Losing was something Jimenez had never experienced. At the time, his fight with Hart was the most important of his career. The loss was painful. “It (losing) definitely hurt my pride a little bit, but that was it,” Jimenez told this writer via email. “It was a learning experience for

By Nicholas Phillipowsy: In just a few days, we will perhaps be witnessing the biggest fight that can be made in a post Mayweather/Pacquiao era of boxing. Aside from the record breaking Mayweather/Pacquiao super fight, this bout will prove to be second to none. Even though it will be remembered in history as the second biggest fight of 2015, many would argue it as the most significant fight that can be made to determine the future landscape of boxing. On Saturday, November 21, 2015...

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): This Saturday, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez will face Miguel Cotto for the WBC World Middleweight title. Some are favoring Alvarez based...

By John J. Raspanti: There’s an old way of thinking that women weaken legs. No less an authority than Mickey Goldmill, the grouchy trainer of Rocky Balboa, espoused this thinking 38 years ago in the classic film Rocky. Surprisingly, Goldmill is not alone. Freddie Roach, whose fighter, Miguel Cotto, meets former champion Canelo Alvarez on November 21 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV., basically agrees women can be a distraction...

Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week. Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the New York State...

By John J. Raspanti: In a span of 14 months, Arthur Abraham lost three out of four fights. What made the losses so troubling was the fact that Abraham was barely competitive in the matches. Five years ago at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit Michigan, Andre Dirrell was leading comfortably against Abraham when he slipped to the canvas in round 11. In a desperate move, Abraham felled Dirrell with an illegal blow--drawing an immediate disqualification. Eleven months after his defeat, Carl Froch...

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): Last Saturday, Timothy Bradley, Jr. knocked out Brandon Rios in the 9th round after dominating him the whole fight. Rios had never been...

Compiled By: Allan Scotto: Welcome to “Ask The Doc,” a new column that will feature comments from Dr. Bennett Brown, a ringside physician for the New York State Athletic Commission. Dr. Brown will comment on medical issues that affect the sport of boxing on “At The Fights,” hosted by Randy Gordon and Gerry Cooney on Friday nights between 6 – 8pm on Sirius/XM Rush 93. His insight will then run on MaxBoxing.com. This past Friday, Dr. Brown commented on...

Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week. Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the New York State...

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): Well, this Saturday Timothy Bradley, Jr. and Brandon Rios will meet in the ring for the WBO version of the welterweight crown...

Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week. Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the New York State Athletic...

By Nicholas Phillipowsky: On Saturday, October 17, 2015, in front of a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden, Gennady Golovkin (34-0-31) thoroughly dominated David Lemieux (34-3-31). The fight was expected to be Golovkin’s toughest fight to date, however David Lemieux proved to be little threat to derailing Golovkin’s run of twenty consecutive knockouts. Lemieux, a big puncher himself, met the same fate as Golovkin’s last twenty opponents, as he was stopped in the...

By John J. Raspanti: Super middleweight champion Andre Ward (28-0, 15 KOs) will make his debut in the light heavyweight division when he faces Alexander Brand (24-1, 19 KOs) November 21 on the undercard of the pay-per-view showdown between Miguel Cotto and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, according to ESPN. Ward, 31, was last seen in the ring this past June, dispatching over-matched Englishmen Paul Smith in nine one-sided rounds. The fight was Ward’

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): Well, the countdown is on for the fight between Timothy Bradley, Jr. and Brandon Rios on November 7th. It’s a classic match-up between...

Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week. Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission...

Compiled By: Allan Scotto: Welcome to “Ask The Doc,” a new column that will feature comments from Dr. Bennett Brown, a ringside physician for the New York State Athletic Commission. Dr. Brown will comment on medical issues that affect the sport of boxing on “At The Fights,” hosted by Randy Gordon and Gerry Cooney on Friday nights between 6 – 8pm on Sirius/XM Rush 93. His insight will then run on MaxBoxing.com. This past Friday, Dr. Brown commented on the current situation with Pritchard Colon.

By John J. Raspanti: A few months ago, I found myself wandering the hallways of what was once the Olympic Auditorium in Los Angeles, Calif. It’s a church now, and when it gets real quiet, you’ll swear you can hear legendary ring announcer Jimmy Lennon saying, “Introducing on my right, the pride of San Pedro, wearing red velvet trunks with the gold stripe, the youngest man to win the lightweight title, the former light champion of the world, Mando Ramos!” That memory popped into...

By Allan Scotto: Welcome to this week’s edition of “The Barbershop,” a column designed to give you a forum to speak your mind about our question(s) of the week or any boxing-related issue you would like to comment on. We welcome and appreciate your participation, so take a minute; scroll down and leave your comment below. Now on to today’s question(s): After Gennady Golovkin disposed of David Lemieux rather easily last Saturday, Teddy Atlas stated that he’s tired of watching GGG fight opponents

Compiled by Allan Scotto: Hey, fans! Welcome to “Ask Gerry Cooney,” where you get to ask former heavyweight contender “Gentleman” Gerry Cooney any boxing-related question you’d like. Your questions for Gerry’s review will be featured at Maxboxing.com every week. Each week, Gerry will answer as many of your questions as he can on the Sirius XM radio show “Friday Night at The Fights,” which Gerry co-hosts with Randy “The Commish” Gordon, former Chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission...